The Gem that is Guarded by Demons
by ren-shika-inu15
Summary: Zack's at a party one night and he runs into an old friend. She has secrects but is willing to pretend she doesn't if it means spending more time with Zack. Will Zack ever find out the truth? AU Zack FairXOC
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note- New story coming your way! I've been dying to write a story with Zack for a long time. And now I've finally started one! Yay! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys it. It's AU and the main characters are Zack Fair and a new OC named Sapphire Hewin. Please R&R! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to with **_**Final Fantasy 7**_** or any of its characters. Only my own. **

Chapter 1

A 19-year-old girl stood against a makeshift bar at a party she obviously didn't want to be at. Somehow, her new friend, Yuffie, had dragged her to the party that was being held at the most popular frat house on the campus of Shinra University. She sighed as Yuffie grabbed her wrist and started dragging her somewhere.

"I've got someone I want you to meet," Yuffie said excitedly. The two girls pushed through the crowd to a guy with spikey blue hair who was talking with three other guys.

"Hey, Dog Breath," the girl with Yuffie said with a small smile. The blue haired guy turned and grinned when he saw her.

"Sapphire Hewin? There's no way!" he exclaimed. He scooped her up in a big hug. He put her down and placed his hands on her shoulders. "How've you been, Short Stuff?"

"Pretty good. How have you and Angeal been?" she asked.

"Not bad. He's the Lit professor here. He got the job shortly after you moved." Zack looked down at his old friend. Her natural silver hair was streaked with black and red. There was a stud in her nose and a bar in her ear. She had on a short black dress, fingerless gloves, and biker boots. A lot had changed but a least she was still short like he remembered. "You're a little bit different than when I saw you last." She shrugged.

"Things change. You got all beefed up. Not all scrawny and awkward anymore, huh?" she replied with a smile. Zack wore a sleeveless turtleneck sweater, cargo pants and combat boots. She couldn't help but admire his large-but not too large-biceps.

"Wait, wait, wait," Yuffie interrupted. "You two already know each other?" They nodded.

"Sapphire and I were best friends in elementary school. She moved after 6th grade. This is the first time I've seen her in seven years!" Zack explained.

"You still act like a little puppy, don't you, Zack?" Sapphire asked with a laugh. He scowled at her for a second and then remembered the other men he'd been talking to.

"Saph, I want you to meet some friends." He pointed to a guy with blond hair. "This is Cloud." He then motioned to a large bald man and a red-haired guy. "The big guy is Rude and the little one is Reno. Guys, this is Sapphire Hewin." They all said hello and went back to talking among themselves.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but I've got to head home. It was great to see you again, Zack. Bye, everyone," Sapphire said abruptly.

"Do you really have to go?" Zack asked. She nodded, turned on her heel, and left, leaving her old friend staring after her.

* * *

Sapphire had just gotten the door to her apartment closed after her when a big had closed around her throat and lifted her off the ground.

"Where were you?" Loz asked angrily. She knew there would be bruises just like there always was when this happened. The grip tightened and choked off her air.

"She was at a party. I told her she could go," Kadaj said from the kitchen. Loz let go and she dropped to the floor, coughing.

"But why? Someone might have tried to take her away," Loz said as tears formed in his eyes. His younger brother rolled his eyes.

"Because we trust her. She knows what would happen," Yazoo answered as he walked into the living room. She looked to him and saw the silent threat in his eyes. Kadaj walked over and knelt beside her.

"Are you tired?" he asked. She nodded.

'_Please just let me go to my room!' _she begged silently.

"She's sleeping in my room tonight!" Loz announced. Sapphire winced in fear.

"She slept in your room last night!" Yazoo all but whined.

"So?" Loz glared down at his brother.

"It's not your turn! It's mine."

"Stop acting like children. She'll sleep in her own room," Kadaj said. He smiled almost sadly and stroked Sapphire's cheek in what was supposed to be a loving gesture but only made her shiver. "Go to bed."

She didn't need to be told twice. She got up and practically ran to her room. She quickly changed into a camisole and shorts-her typical pajamas when she slept in her room-and climbed into bed. She turned off her light and rolled over, closing her eyes. Zack's face instantly appeared. She smiled as she remembered how happy he'd been to see her. She had been really happy to see him too.

Sapphire and Zack had first me in preschool. Some huge kid that looked like he should've been in 5th grade took Zack's pudding on the first day. Sapphire had seen it and walked up to the kid.

"_Hey, you!" she'd said as she poked him. He turned and looked down at the small girl._

"_What do you want?" he sneered. _

"_Give him back his pudding!" she said, glaring. He laughed and turned back around. She poked him again. _

"_Go away, midget!" the kid said. That made her even madder. She kicked him in the knee and punched him in the nose. He dropped the pudding as he fell to the ground. She pounced on him and started beating the snot out of him until the teacher pulled her off. _

"_Sapphire, we don't hit!" the teacher scolded harshly. The little girl glared up at her. _

"_He took that kid's pudding!" Sapphire said as she pointed to Zack. She walked over to him after she picked up his pudding. _

"_Thanks," he said as he took it back. Sapphire smiled and stuck out her little hand. _

"_No problem. I'm Sapphire Hewin. What's your name?" she replied. He stared at her silver pigtails and her icy blue eyes before he stuck out his hand. _

"_I'm Zack Fair," he answered as they shook hands._

"_We should be best friends. Forever and ever. Do you want to?" Sapphire asked hopefully. Zack smiled. _

"_Sure!" They were almost inseparable from that moment on. _

The memory faded and was replaced by a different one.

_Sapphire sat on her couch right after she got home from school. She and Zack had just finished 6__th__ grade and she was ready for a fun-filled summer with her best friend. She picked up the phone and dialed Zack's number. _

"_Hello?" a boy's voice asked. _

"_Hi, Zack!" Sapphire replied excitedly. Zack laughed. _

"_Saph, we just saw each other." She giggled. _

"_I know, I know. Are you doing anything this weekend?" she asked. Another laugh. _

"_Actually, there's a new zombie movie coming out on Saturday. Angeal's taking me. Do you wanna go see it?" he replied. _

"_Of course! Let me go ask Mom and Dad," she told him and then put the phone down. She ran into the kitchen where her parents were seated at the table. "Can I go see a movie with Zack on Saturday?"_

"_Yes, but we have something to tell you," her mother said. _

"_Okay. What is it?" _

"_Daddy got a promotion. He's going to be a factory manager. The thing is the factory is in a town a couple of hours away. We have to move," her mom explained. Sapphire started to tear up._

"_But I don't want to! I wanna stay here with Zack and my other friends!" she cried. _

"_Sweetheart, we know, but this has to happen," her dad told her. "How about you go ask if you can spend the night with Zack on Saturday? We have to start packing on Sunday." Sapphire ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face. _

Sapphire shook her head to clear it before the memory got any farther. She felt the tears on her face, but didn't wipe them away. She rolled over once more and fell asleep, Zack completely invading her dreams.

* * *

"Woo hoo!"

Angeal heard his adopted son whoop when Zack entered the house. Zack walked into the living room and flopped on the couch next to his dad.

"Did you have fun, Pup?" Angeal asked. Zack beamed at him.

"Hell yeah!" he answered.

"Who's the girl?" Zack was taken aback for a moment.

"How'd you know?"

"Let's just say I was that age once and leave it at that." Zack's excitement was back in an instant.

"Actually, you know her. Do you remember Sapphire?" Zack asked. Angeal nodded as he smiled.

"How could I forget? That girl was a real firecracker," Angeal replied. Zack nodded.

"She was at the party! There was something up, I think, because she left right after we talked. Oh, well! It was so great to see her!" He let out a happy sigh as his head fell back against the couch.

"You still got that monster-sized crush on her, Pup?" Angeal asked casually. Zack's head shot back up.

"What?"

"You heard me." Zack stared at the big man and then let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah…" he answered. Angeal smiled at his son.

"Maybe this will be your chance to reconnect." Zack stood up and yawned.

"You may be right," He said with a smile. "I'm gonna head to bed. Goodnight, Angeal."

"'Night, Pup."

**A/N- So there's chapter one! I hope everyone enjoyed it and I'd love to hear from you so R&R. Bye for now!**

**ren-shika-inu15**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note- Hello! I'm back with chapter two of this story. Finally! Thank God for Spring Break! Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters other than my own. **

Chapter 2

Sapphire was instantly awake when her phone started buzzing on her nightstand. She scooped it up and flipped it open to read her message. It was a text from Yuffie asking if she wanted to hang out. It sounded like fun, but she knew she had to ask if she could go. She got up and changed into black skinny jeans, a tight black t-shirt, a black scarf to cover the bruises on her throat, and black flip-flops. Shoving her phone into her pocket, she left the safety of her room. She walked into the kitchen and Loz beamed at her. She forced herself not to shudder in disgust.

"Hi, Sapphire!" he exclaimed. He gathered her small frame into his arms and sat her on his lap as he sat at the kitchen table. "Are you hungry?" he asked as he gently caressed her back. She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat from his touch.

"No." He frowned. "Um, may I ask the three of you a question?" Sapphire said quietly.

"Of course," Kadaj replied as he and Yazoo joined her and Loz at the table.

"My friend Yuffie wants to know if I can hang out with her today. May I?" she asked. She winced as Loz grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled.

"Are you trying to run away again?" he asked angrily.

"No. I just want to hang out with my friend," she replied as tears pricked her eyes.

"Loz, let her go," Kadaj said, the threat clear in his voice. Loz released her hair but wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"I just don't want you to leave us. You belong to us. No one else. Right?" Loz asked.

"Of course. No one else," she said emotionlessly.

"I guess you can go then," he told her. Kadaj and Yazoo agreed. She thanked them, said goodbye, and left quickly.

* * *

Zack groaned as his phone went off, signaling that he had a text message. He rolled over in bed and glared at it.

"Stupid thing. Who's texting me at this time? It's still before noon on a Sunday," he complained. He picked up his phone and read his message. It said:

_Get your lazy butt up and come hang out with me and Sapphire! Meet us at the coffee shop just off campus. –Yuffie _

He rolled his eyes but got up to get ready. There was no way he was going to miss a chance to hang out with Sapphire.

* * *

"Are you okay, Sapphire?" Yuffie asked. Sapphire looked up at her friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You're just picking at your muffin," the raven-haired girl replied. Sapphire looked down at her destroyed muffin. She was about to speak when she heard someone call her name.

"Saph! Yuffie!" She looked up and saw Zack jogging towards their table. She felt her cheeks get warm as she stared at him. He was wearing a cut-off shirt, cargo shorts, and an old-looking pair of skateboarding shoes.

_'God, he looks good!' _she thought. He reached them and pulled up a chair, beaming.

"How's it going, girls?" he asked.

"About time you showed up! I thought you were never going to get here," Yuffie exclaimed.

"Wait. You invited him?" Sapphire asked. Yuffie nodded.

"I thought you guys could use this as a way to catch up. Plus, I want to hear about your guys' childhood together."

"Oh."

"Are you all right, Saph?" Zack asked. She sighed.

"I'm fine. What time is it?" she replied. Zack looked at his phone.

"Almost noon. Why?" he said. She took out her phone, and sent a quick text to Kadaj, letting him know that she was still with Yuffie. The answer text from him was almost instant.

"So, Zack, are you hungry?" Sapphire asked. He ignored her question.

"Can I have your number? Just in case I would, you know, wanna hang out or something." She sighed but gave it to him anyway, praying that Kadaj wouldn't find out. She noticed Yuffie giggling out of the corner of her eye.

"What's so funny?" she and Zack asked at the same time. She felt her face get warm again.

"Oh, nothing. Do you guys wanna go for a walk?" They nodded and the three of them left.

* * *

Zack, Sapphire, and Yuffie hung out all day. And Zack couldn't keep his eyes off of Sapphire. She had been cute when they were kids, but now she was gorgeous.

"Oh, crap!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"What is it?" Sapphire asked worriedly.

"It's 4:30. I've got a family dinner in half an hour. I'll see you guys later! Bye!" the raven-haired girl explained and ran off.

"Um, maybe I should go, too," Sapphire said. Zack saw this as the perfect opportunity.

"You don't have to go. You can come hang out at my house for a while," he suggested.

"I don't know if that would be a good idea…"

"Please? I know Angeal would love to see you again. What could it hurt?" he said. He took her hand as she frowned.

_'It could hurt a lot more than you know,' _she thought.

"Please?" he asked again.

"I guess." She never had been able to resist his puppy-dog eyes.

"Woo hoo!" he exclaimed. She smiled softly.

"I've got to make a phone call first, okay?" she told him. He nodded and she walked a little ways away from him to call Kadaj.

"You just checked in a little bit ago. Is something wrong?" Kadaj asked.

"No. Everything's fine. My friend wanted me to go to their house for dinner. Is that okay?" she replied. There was silence as he thought about it. She held her breath.

"I suppose it's okay. Just remember to keep checking in every hour," he answered. She let out her breath and smiled.

"Thank you, Kadaj." She hung up and rejoined Zack.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Nothing important. Let's go," she said. With that they walked to Zack's house.

* * *

"Angeal! I'm home!" Zack called. He and Sapphire slipped off their shoes and walked into the living room as Angeal walked out of the kitchen. His eyes widened when he saw Sapphire.

"Sapphire Hewin," Angeal said with a warm smile. He wrapped her in a big hug. He let her go and she smiled softly.

"It's been a long time, Angeal. How've you been?" she asked.

"Things have been good. I was kind of surprised when Pup told me he ran into you at a party. Are you going to school here or just passing through?" he replied.

"I'm actually going to the university. I'm majoring in art and minoring in Literature," she said.

"So you're going to be in my class, right?" he asked. She laughed.

"Right."

"I hope you like Chinese food." She nodded and they all sat around the table.

* * *

They had caught up a lot during dinner. Although, Sapphire made sure to not say much about her current situation. Zack remembered something they had done as kid and saw this as a good opportunity to ask.

"Hey, Saph. Do you still like zombie movies?" he asked. She smiled.

"Of course. It's been a while since I've seen one though," she replied. He grinned.

"Come with me." Angeal winked at them as Zack took her hand and pulled her into the living room. He opened the cabinet under the TV and pulled out a DVD. He held it up and Sapphire gasped when she saw it was _Night of the Living Dead_. Their all-time favorite movie.

"You still have it?" she said quietly. He nodded.

"How 'bout we watch it, for old time's sake?" She smiled and he popped it in and started it. He grabbed a blanket and they curled up under it together on the couch like when they were kids. She laid her head on his shoulder, feeling safer than she had in a long time.

About halfway through the movie, Zack tightened his grip around her and she looked up at him. His lips soon clashed with hers and she gasped. His tongue slowly, almost shyly, slid into her mouth. After he had explored, he gently touched her tongue, trying to coax it into action. He wrapped it around hers, causing her to moan. His hand moved to the back of her neck so he could hold her mouth more firmly to his. Her hands traveled up into his soft, spikey hair and tangled them there. He let out a lusty groan and she was suddenly scrambling away from him.

"Saph…come back," he said quietly. She shook her head roughly as he reached for her.

"I-I-I have to g-go," she stammered as she jumped up and headed for the door. Zack got up quickly and followed her.

"Sapphire! Wait!" She shook her head again as she ran out the door and down the street. "Sapphire! Come back!" Zack yelled. He watched her retreating form. "Damn! She's gone…"


End file.
